Athletic trainer roles and responsibilities

¶ … career of an athletic trainer, including the background necessary for the career, the necessary education, and job opportunities for athletic trainers. Athletic trainers form a necessary backbone of most professional sports organizations, and many private organizations. A professional athletic trainer can make the difference between a life-changing injury, or returning to the game. Athletic trainers are an essential and integral part of modern sports medicine, and as sports and athletics increase in importance in our society, they will continue to play an important part in our healthy lives.

Athletic trainers have been around for centuries, but today, most trainers are certified, and not only work with sports clubs or educational facilities, they can work in gyms and fitness centers, and even corporate workout centers.

Certified athletic trainers (ATCs) are medical experts in preventing, recognizing, managing and rehabilitating injuries that result from physical activity. Athletic trainers can help you avoid unnecessary medical treatment and disruption of normal daily life; if you're injured, they can get you on the mend and keep you on the move (Editors).

Therefore, a certified athletic trainer (ATC) is a highly trained and valuable member of any sports venue, and can help treat injuries and help them heal more quickly. The athletic trainer does not do this on his or her own; they work in concert with physicians, "health care professionals, athletics administrators, coaches, and parents. The ATC gets to know each athlete individually and can treat injuries more effectively" (Editors). There are many things a trainer may do during the course of a normal work day, from preparing athletes for training or competition, which might include bracing, taping, or bandaging affected limbs, to evaluating injuries, to creating training programs, to employing different therapeutic or and rehabilitation programs (Editors). Some of the requirements of the job include "extensive knowledge and strong decision-making skills obtained through the certified athletic trainer's experience and education" (Editors). Another professional organization puts it this way, the athletic trainer's "primary responsibility is to help athletes perform to the best of their ability while minimizing injury, through their knowledge of nutrition, hygiene, physiology, psychology, biomechanics, anatomy, conditioning and protective equipment" (AHEC). It is easy to see from these job responsibilities how important the function of athletic trainer is, and how athletes must depend on a trainer for their health, well being, and continuation of their athletic careers.

The education necessary for this job is usually completed as an undergraduate, and is offered by several colleges and universities across the nation. The most respected and accepted educational facilities are accredited according to standards created by the Commission on Accreditation for Allied Health Education (CAAHEP), a division of the American Medical Association (Hibberts). Many students major in exercise science with a specialty in athletic training. In most cases, they also need to obtain a state license or National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) certification in order to work as an athletic trainer and "to become certified, trainers must complete 1500 hours of athletic training, and pass the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) certification exam" (AHEC). Training includes many different factors, including nutrition, psychology, human anatomy and physiology, exercise physiology, first aid, therapy, injury prevention, administration, and many other aspects of sports psychology, medicine, and management (Hibberts).

There are many job opportunities open to athletic trainers, in both professional and athletic organizations.

Professional job opportunities related to an exercise science curriculum include athletic trainer, strength and conditioning specialist, exercise specialist, exercise physiologist, and health/fitness instructor. Athletic trainers are prepared to prevent, manage, and rehabilitate athletic injuries. They are often employed in high school, collegiate, and professional settings as well as sport medicine clinics, and industrial settings (Kornspan et al. 367).